Scottie Scheffler sets daunting target on day two at Open Championship

Scottie Scheffler had no idea what was coming his way on Friday at the Open Championship. The American warmed up in a short-sleeved shirt. The umbrella was out when he walked off the first green.

For the thousands of fans watching him at Royal Portrush, they knew exactly what to expect from the World No. 1, and the 29-year-old delivered another relentless performance. Three straight birdies to close the gap. Two more down the stretch to take the lead.

Scheffler wrapped up with a 15-foot putt that was one turn away from dropping in for a final birdie. He happily settled for a seven-under-par 64, his lowest round in a major, to take a one-shot lead over former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick of England.

It was his lowest round in a major, yes, but there was a normalcy about it, too. Scheffler has been doing this for three years now and there is little left to say. Even when Sky Sports showed a list of his key statistics – driving accuracy down, greens in regulation great – that elicited little more than a shrug.

The statistics led to a shrug.

"Overall, I'm hitting the ball solid," Scheffler said. "The tournament is only halfway done. I got off to a good start."

Scheffler made eight birdies on another wild afternoon of tumultuous weather, leaving him at 10-under-par 132 as he chases the third leg of the Career Grand Slam.

Fitzpatrick was equally dynamic after beginning the back nine with four straight birdies, only to miss a five-foot par putt on the 14th green to slow his momentum, and a three-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole that was mildly irritating. He shot a 66.

"I felt like every facet of my game was on today, and I felt like I really played solid," Fitzpatrick said. "To take advantage of the opportunities I had out there was obviously really positive."

Brian Harman got the best of the weather – surprising sunshine – and took dead aim in his hunt for another Claret Jug. The 2023 tournament winner played bogey-free for a 65 that left him just two shots off the pace, alongside Li Haotong of China, who carded a 67.

Everyone else was five shots behind or more.

That includes Rory McIlroy, who went around Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland with plenty of cheers, but very few roars. The World No. 2 posted a 69 but lost a lot of ground due to the strong play of Scheffler, Fitzpatrick, and Harman.

McIlroy started the second round trailing a quintet of co-leaders by just three shots. He goes into the weekend sitting seven shots behind the top-ranked player in the world.

"I've been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there," McIlroy said. "I'm going to need to have it all under control and have it sort of all firing over the weekend to make a run."